Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Spotlight and Giveaway: The One and Only

In her eagerly awaited new novel, beloved New York Times bestselling author Emily Giffin returns with an extraordinary story of love and loyalty—and an unconventional heroine struggling to reconcile both.

Thirty-three-year-old Shea Rigsby has spent her entire life in Walker, Texas—a small college town that lives and dies by football, a passion she unabashedly shares. Raised alongside her best friend, Lucy, the daughter of Walker’s legendary head coach, Clive Carr, Shea was too devoted to her hometown team to leave. Instead she stayed in Walker for college, even taking a job in the university athletic department after graduation, where she has remained for more than a decade.

But when an unexpected tragedy strikes the tight-knit Walker community, Shea’s comfortable world is upended, and she begins to wonder if the life she’s chosen is really enough for her. As she finally gives up her safety net to set out on an unexpected path, Shea discovers unsettling truths about the people and things she has always trusted most—and is forced to confront her deepest desires, fears, and secrets.

Thoughtful, funny, and brilliantly observed, The One & Only is a luminous novel about finding your passion, following your heart, and, most of all, believing in something bigger than yourself . . . the one and only thing that truly makes life worth living. (Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads.)

Check out a review from Marlene Engel, over at Book Mama Blog (our sister blog).

Photo by Emmanuelle Choussy

About the author:
Emily Giffin, a Chicago native, graduated summa cum laude from Wake Forest University and the University of Virginia School of Law. After law school, she moved to Manhattan and practiced litigation at a large firm for several years while she paid back her school loans, wrote a novel in her very limited spare time, and dreamed of becoming a writer.

Despite the rejection of her first manuscript, Giffin persisted, retiring from the legal profession and moving to London to pursue her dreams full time. It was there that she began writing her first novel. One year later, her gamble paid off, as she completed her manuscript, landed an agent and signed a two-book deal on both sides of the Atlantic. The following summer, Something Borrowed, hailed as a “heartbreakingly honest debut” with “dead-on dialogue, real-life complexity and genuine warmth,” became a surprise sensation, and Giffin vowed never to practice law again.

Giffin now resides with her husband and three young children in Atlanta. You can visit her at her website, Facebook, and Twitter. (Bio adapted from Emily's website.)Thanks again to Random House for sharing Emily's book with our winners!How to win The One and Only: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us.

I tend to feel that an author's first book is something they have been waiting to say for a long time so I would probably read Something Borrowed first. However, this new book looks very good. I'd be very happy to win it. Thanks

It was Rachel in "Something Borrowed", but then I read "Something Blue", and now it's Darcy, surprisingly. You know someone is a great author when they can flesh out the "villan" from one book in another book & have you rooting for them. I can't wait for a "Something Blue" movie!

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